The Hunter
by TheBlazingCyclone
Summary: There's two types of hunters in the world. There are the well known hunters and huntresses, who accept paid jobs from officials to clear out Grimm and other heroic deeds. Then there are collectors, who take on any job whether it be a hit, framing, or anything that will offer them some extra lien. Our hero is a collector. He will get a job that will have him think: is it worth it?
1. Chapter 1- job gone wrong

He down his drink and slammed his hand on the table.

"Another." He mumbled to the barkeeper. The barkeeper raised his eyebrow in question.

"That's enough for today son. Can't have you getting to drunk." The young man scowled at him and got into the barkeepers face. "The names Simmons. Jake Simmons. Or did your thick skull not process that the last time I told you?" Jake spat into the barkeepers face. The barkeeper just sighed. "Seems Its to late. Your already drunk."

Jake was a young man at age 19. He had black, scraggly hair, dark green eyes, and I scar on his lip. He wasn't tall, and he wasn't exactly short either, being 5'8. He wasn't built, but more on the scrawny side. He wore a black duster and a grey T-shirt underneath with a white cross with vines with red thorns covering it. He wore loose grey jeans with a black buckler holding them up. His shoes were steel toe and heel combat boots. For accessories, he had a digital watch and a high crowned, wide brimmed black hat on his head.

A beeping was heard from his pocket, and he pulled out a scroll. He read the message, and swore under his breath.

"Contract?"

"Contract."

The barkeeper sighed. "Need the juice?" Jake nodded, holding his hand out. The barkeeper reached under the bar and grabbed a small vial of green liquid, which jake grabbed and downed quickly.

"If you didn't help make most of it, I'd charge you."

Jake waved his hand and lowered his hat over his face. "See ya later grandpa." The barkeeper grunted in annoyance. "And you get to call me names?" Jake waved his hand as he walked away. "Yeah. See ya."

When Jake exited the bar, he walked into the nearest alley way and pulled back his left sleeve, revealing a pad with a keyboard and a screen. He types into it, and moments later, a unmanned motorcycle came screeching down the alley way. Without stopping, Jake grabbed the handle and swung himself on, not losing any speed and taking control of the bike.

The bike was a sleek black sports bike with a white racing stripe down the middle. It had no real visible special features to the naked eye. But, when it needed to...

He looked at his scroll again and sighed. "He's on the move, shit." He came to an overcrowded public place, and the target was right through there. He merely grinned and flipped a cover on his handle, revealing a button. He pressed it, and hidden thruster on the bottom of the bike made it jump upwards. As it flew through the air, the front and back wheels split and turned into rotary blade, making it hover in the air. He pushed forward, and the thrusters on the bottom of the bike increased in power, sending him flying over the crowds of people.

"Screw you atlas, and all your community parks." He mumbled to himself. A screen between the handles of the bike displayed a map, showing the location of the target, and Jake himself.

"Holy hell he's moving fast." Jake thought to himself as he found his target. A fairly large white car was speeding down the highway below him, cutting off people and going through traffic.

"Someone's in a hurry." He thought to himself. He flew closer to the road and turned his bike back into it's land mode, making some cars swerve out of the way.

He sped up, chasing the white car. He pulled up next to it and waves at the driver with a smile. The driver was wearing shaders and a bandana on his head, typical gangster thug look. He made a double take on Jake, before giving him a scowl and pulling a gun on him.

Seeing this, Jake punched through the window and grabbed the gun, shooting the driver with it. The car swerved and drove off the highway into some alleyways of smaller buildings underneath the highway. Jake followed after them, turning his bike into it's flying mode to slow his descent.

When he got down into the alley. He found a shorter and pudgy man in white suit run into a nearby building. Jake looked back at his scroll lazily. "Yep. That's him." He got off his bike and pressed some codes into his wrist pad, and the bike drove off. He walked through the door of the building, and saw the target run out the back door.

"Not very fast." He said to himself with a laugh. He walked out the back door, only to find the pudgy man struggling to climb over the fence. "Wow." He thought to himself as he walked up to him. The pudgy man turned Around to find Jake walking towards him. He growled with anger.

"Little shit, do you know who your dealing with!? I'll have your head mounted on my wall!" Jake yawned. "Honestly, yours might be, depending on my employers intentions."

Jake pulled out a metal plate with half circles cut out of on opposite sides. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way." He heard clicking come from the rooftop, and he turned to look. A sniper was up there, with his sights trained on him. He ran for cover behind a tree, wood pieces flying as the tree got hit.

"The hard way then." He mumbled. He waited until the shooting stopped. He peeked over to see the shooter reloading his weapon. Jack took this as a time to strike. He ran to the side of the house and leapt onto the side of the building half way up. He then jumped up and away from the building, going higher than the building.

In mid air, he pulled out two desert eagle .50's from within his duster. One was white, with gold trimming and a gold sun on the handle, the letter A engraved into the sun. The other was black, with red trimming and a red crescent moon on the handle, with another A engraved into the moon.

The gunner didn't even have time to look up before he was shot to all hell. Jake landed with a backroll, and looked for his target. "Fat little shit. Where ya go?" He mumbled angrily.

He walked to the front of the house and found the man running down the street, wheezing as he went on. "Oh for the love of..." Jake aimed at the target with his white gun and shot him through the knee, making him fall to the ground with a pained yell.

Jake marched up to the man as he tried to get back up and kicked him in the back, making him fall again. "I'm REAL close to bringing you in dead." He said through gritted teeth. He grabbed metal plate and slammed it into the mans back. A blue light coming from the plate enveloped him, putting him into stasis.

Jake tapped into his wrist pad, and his bike rode in from an alleyway. He went up to it and pressed a button on the rear of the bike. A small trailer unfolded out of it, having a hover system instead of wheels for heavier loads. "I would sling you over the back of my bike, but you might crush it." He called over his shoulder to his paralyzed prey.

After some rolling and heavy lifting, he got the man strapped down onto the trailer and drove off. He saw some cop cars coming from the opposite direction. "Shit." He drove into another alleyway, deciding to take the longer, but more secretive route.

After some time of traveling, he got to the docks. He noticed some cars and a limo pulled out front of a warehouse in a semicircle. "Rich boy eh?" Jake thought with a grin. He pulled up into the middle and stepped off, letting the engine run.

A man stepped out of the limo. He was stupidly tall, which made me question how he was comfortable in the limo. He was at least 7 feet, wearing a black suit and red tie. He wore a fedora, which was equally as black as his suit. He seemed to be bald, since he had no sideburns, and his eyes were a pale blue. His skin looked pale, like he spent all day indoors. His face seemed expressionless, giving an eerie feeling to the air.

Jake kicked off the fat man off the trailer, knocking off the metal plate as well. He immediately started to scream profanity, but stopped when he saw the man, sheer terror on his face.

He looked at jake with pleading eyes. "Please no! I...I take back what I said. I'll do anything! I'll pay you more! How much is he paying you!? I'll double it." The man in the suit spoke, his voice sending shivers up my spine. "The offer I made was 1,000,000 lien. A bit higher than your average pay grade, eh?" He said to jake and the man.

"Now, if you please. Hand over the man. You'll get your money." He motioned his hand to one of the other cars, and another man came out, holding a suitcase. He opened it, and Jake could see from where he was standing the big numbers on the lien cards.

"Alright, as I bring tubby over there, he puts the money on the bike. Deal?" Jake said to the tall man, picking up the fat one by his collar. The tall man smiled with obvious fake kindness. "Deal."

He walked over to the tall man with the fat one, keeping an eye on the one with the suitcase as he walked to the bike, placing the case on the seat.

Two more men came out of another car, one carrying a potato sack and another a Pistol. Jake kicked the fat one to the tall mans feet, who kneeled down and smiled. "Now, you know I don't like being double crossed Lenny. I gave you a fair amount of chances." The fat man, who's known as Lenny, began to cry. "Please! I'm sorry mr Snello! I...i swear on my life that I won't betray you!"

Mr Snello leaned down and whispered into Lenny's ear. "No use swearing on something you lost." The man with the potato sack threw the sack over Lenny's head, then tied his hands behind his back. He then threw lenny into the trunk of the limo, all the while Lenny was screaming for mercy.

Jake clapped his hands together and walked backwards. "Great. You got your man, and I got my money." Jake said with a smile as walked over to the suitcase. He opened it, looking over his shoulder at Mr Snello as He did so. "But I got to say, I'm surprised you gave me..." He looked at the suitcase, and his smile melted off his face. "The fuck is this shit!?"

The suitcase had two phone books in it, each big enough to fill in the space of the case. Jake threw them out, and found that only a layer of wads of cash were in there. He turned towards Mr Snello angrily.

"You trying to play me as a fool!?" Mr Snello tsked as he reached behind him, an annoyed look on his face. "I'm not, no." He pulled out a pistol that seemed to be able to stop a charging Goliath in it's tracks.

I reached for my pistols, but he then pointed the gun at the one who placed the suitcase on the bike and shot him, sending him flying over the hood of the car he stood In front of. "But, you did cause some trouble in the process of your job. The rest of the money was used to keep the authorities silent about the little fight on the bridge. That was one of my vehicles, and I didn't need them tracing it to me."

Jake raised his guns again, pointing them at Snello. "The contract never stated anything about reward deductions for misshapes!" Mr Snello holstered his gun and sighed. "Yes, but I know your type, and you people never go for those type of jobs. And now that you threatened me..." He snapped his fingers and eight people piled out of the cars, all with pistols. "I have no choice but to eliminate you. Boys, light him up." He said as he got into his limo. It drove away, fading into the night.

They walked forward, and Jake had no choice but to activate his semblance. Jake Crouched slightly and bursted forwards, a black blur, and placed the nozzles of both his pistols on two of the nearest guys chests, them being right in front of him, and pulled the trigger, killing them both instantly.

They started shooting, but Jake had already moved into the air, seemingly flying. He shot down, hitting one in the head and another one in the right of his chest. They shot at him again, but Jake had seemingly blinked out of the air and onto the ground, where he sped off behind the cars and up the building. He looked down at them as they aimed around, confused.

"Where the fuck you go!?"

"Guys, he a teleporter. Watch your backs."

"Bullshit. I've seen people like that, and this is different."

"Then what the hell is he!?"

"You're all just slow." Jake called down from the top of the building. They aimed at where he was, but he was gone. They heard someone whistle from behind them, and they turned around, only to get shot in vital areas. Jake then walked up to each body and shot it in the head. "Can't leave witnesses of that show." He thought to himself.

He got into his bike, clipping the suitcase onto the the side, and drove off towards his home. His home was a small apartment building, or it was, until he got there and found a couple of cars pulled up hazardously in front of it.

Jake got up and silently walked up to the window and peeked in. People, who were dressed like the ones he met at the dock, we're looking through his stuff. Annoyed, he pulled out his guns and kicked the door down. He shot them before they could fully look at him. He saw what they were looking through.

"My money...thieving little-" Jake stopped when he saw one holding a pair of his underwear. He didn't keep money in there. For good measure, Jake walked up to him and unloaded both clips onto the mans face, leaving a bloody mess for a head.

Knowing what's to happen next, Jake packed up some clothes into a backpack and dumped all his remaining money into a duffle bag, which he slung over his shoulder. He grabbed a lighter from one of the men and lit it up. He took one last look at the place before throwing the match onto the bed, starting a fire.

When he got outside, he pulled out a brick from the sidewalk and went to one of their cars. He turned it so it faced the apartment, and got out. He threw the brick onto the pedal of the car and it drove straight into the apartment.

He got into his bike and drove off, his apartment exploding as he exited the parking lot. Sirens could already be heard in the distance, and he needed to get out of town. He drove to an airship liner and came up to a person about to close the vehicle transportation deck.

The person turned around with a confused look. "Sir, this is a restricted area. Can you please-" Jake pulled out a wad of lien cards from the duffel bag and showed it to him. "This, if you shut up and let me on." He paused before taking the lien and stepping out of the way. "Please make sure your vehicle is secure when you park it."

He drove in and parked his bike in a empty spot. A blue shell of light surrounded the bike when he got off it, keeping it in place. Jake then walked onto the deck and leaned over the railing as the ship started to take off. The intercom came on with musical ding. "Now leaving atlas, and heading to vale."

"Vale..." Jake thought as he looked at the tall buildings of atlas. "Been a while." The skyline of atlas faded into the night, and so did his home.

Hey, blaze here. I'm gonna be writing another fiction here. So I'm gonna try juggling these two, making go from one after the other. So expect the next one to be A New Beginning. And to those who complained about the spacing. I looked back at the chapters...and it was pretty bad, yeah. So I fixed them, and hopefully it's better. So until later, Blaze out.

P.S: see if you guys can find my painfully obvious Easter Egg of a certain friend of any person who likes internet horror stories XP.


	2. Chapter 2- Familiar face, new employer

Jake didn't have the most pleasant sleep.

Since he didn't have a room on the ship, he slept behind some cargo boxes on the deck, so he wouldn't be found by the guards. He peeked over the edge of the crate, and found no one in sight.

He got out and stretched, cracking his back as he did so. "Man, pray I never go through that again." He mumbled to himself. He looked into the horizon, towards the sun. "Hm. Should lay low until the other passengers are up. Easier to blend in." Then he heard footsteps behind him.

"Freeze! Stop right there!" Ordered a guard of the ship, pointing at him. Jake raised his arms up slightly, lowering his head so his hat covered his face. "What's your name?" Asked the guard, pulling out a checklist. Jake only opened his mouth slightly before charging the guard with the help of his semblance.

Time seemed to slow down, the guards face slowly turning into one of shock. Jake clapped him in the ears as he slowed down, stunning him. He then grabbed the back of the guards head and smashed his knee into the guards face, making him fall to the floor limply.

"Aw crap." Thought Jake. "Got a body to take care of. He thought about dumping him overboard, but he didn't need a missing persons case, so he decided to tie him up and gag him. He placed the guard where he stayed, hiding him from plain sight. He checked the guards pockets, and found a wallet and a keycard.

He looked into the wallet, and found about a hundred lien in it, so he pocketed it. He also found a I.D. "Chris King. Age 29, born in vale." He threw the I.D. away, for it had no use to him, and threw the wallet onto the guard. He examined the key card. "Special clearance." He read with a grin. Then the over speakers of the ship turned on.

"Arriving in vale in one hour." Now being cut short on time, laying low was not an option, especially with the key card. He grabbed his backpack and duffel bag, and looked over the side of the ship and saw that two more guards were coming up. He quickly then moved down the other side of the ship, avoiding the two.

He peeked through the window of a door before entering, finding himself in a large hallway, a couple of windowless doors on either side. "Alright. Eenie, meenie, miney...moe." He pick a door on the far right and used the keycard to enter.

When he entered, he found himself in some sort of armory. "Well shit. They going to war?" The wall were lined with an assortment of firearms and blades. He walked up and down the room, examining them, before a pair of blades caught his eyes.

They were a peculiar set of blades. Both were horrid, not in condition or style, but that they looked terrifying. The handles were dark black, grooves for hands formed into them for better grip. There was no guard between the blade and the handle, which was both odd yet understandable, considering the blade.

The blade itself was pure white, with red designs on it, which reminded him of a grimms markings. The blades gradually got bigger as they moved from the base of the blade to the point, where they also curved inwards slightly. They had hooks jutting out of the dull end, so it ripped as well slashed.

He picked them up, feeling the weight. "Nicely balanced." He thought, starting to like the blades. He found the sheaths of the blades and strapped them on. They were on the middle of his back facing outwards, for easy access to the blades. He sheathed them, and found that they were concealed pretty well in his coat.

After leaving the room, he entered the one on the other side of the one he exited.

It was also an armory, but more emphasis on the armor. Different styles and types of armour lined the wall on either a manikin, or hung on the wall. He examined them, like he was checking out new shirts and pants at the store. He then found a set of armor he seemed to like.

It was a strong but flexible piece of black and red fabric unknown to him, in the form of shoulder guards that fitted nicely on him, as well did the greaves and gauntlets that came with it, both folded over each other, keeping their flexibility as well maneuverability. He fitted them on underneath his jacket and pants, which didn't reveal the armour that much at all, since the pants were baggy to begin with. Making sure that everything was seemingly untouched.

He left the room and looked into the next one, and froze at what he saw. The room had an assortment of mechanicals parts lined up, with a construction table ment for machinery. He closed the door, swearing to come back there with his ride.

He entered the last door, and grinned from ear to ear. "Oh baby, this is it." The room had locked cubby doors covering the walls, names on the ones Using the cubbies on the onesie use. But that's not what caught his attention. What caught his attention was the safe embedded Into the wall on the other side of the room. He took a step before stopping.

"This is too easy." He thought. Alarms could set off. Then he realized that maybe they already did, but they were silenced ones, to alert whoever this ship was being piloted by. "What IS this ship anyways?" He thought to himself. The place had weapons, armor, and cash. Come to think of it, the passengers seemed to be like they've seen battle, and no children in sight.

He heard footsteps coming from behind the door, a voice accompanying it. "What's with these doors being unlocked?" Jake opened the door slightly, just enough to see into the hall. A man, who looked like he was part of the Atlas military, stood In front a now open door, which led to the weapons, with a scowl on his face.

"Hmm. He seems like a fighter." Thought Jake, taking off his backpack and duffel bag. He pulled out one of the blades and spun it in his hands, so the point faced away from him. Slowly opened the door and made his way to the man. The floorboards under his feet cracked, making the man spin around, reaching for a pistol at his side.

"Who's th-" was all he uttered before Jake lunged at him and drove the blade into the mans chest, striking the heart. He slumped over jake's shoulder, dead. Jake then hurredly carried the man into the room with the safe and closed the door.

"Shit shit SHIT!" Whispered Jake angrily as sat against the door. This wasn't just some cruise liner like he thought. It was a MILITARY ship, atlas too, making it all the more dangerous. Which also perked his interest of the safe. He searched the dead militant, and found a can of spray deodorant.

"Who keeps these on themselves?" He asked to no one In particular. Then he got an idea. He took off the cap and sprayed into the rest of the room, filling it with spray, much to his dislike. "Ugh, that reeks...Well, no lasers." He said, covering his mouth and nose so he didn't breath in the overdose of body spray.

He walked over to the safe and examined it. "Hm. Standard rotary combination lock. Easy." He cracked his fingers and got to work. After a couple of minutes of trial and error, he got it open. "Longer than I thought, but eh." He opened the safe, and his jaw dropped.

A note. That what was in the safe. A note. Nothing else, just a note. "Un...believable." He said out loud. He started to get angry, then looked back at the dead body. "I killed a man for THIS?!" He said in almost a yell. Still angry, he grabbed the note and pocketed it. "Because fuck you military." Now he needed to get off the ship. He thought of a couple ways, but then looked at the body, then back at the safe. "But first things first, evidence."

He leaned around the corner of the hallway. No one was there, so he advanced, making his way to the vehicle transportation deck. He entered, and heard laughing coming from around the middle of the area.

He made his way over to the laughing, and almost just straight up started shooting the ones laughing. Three clearly drunk individuals, all of them wearing a military uniform, but less flashy as the one he killed. And they had beers in their hands, that they kept spilling on...

"My bike..." He growled, just low enough that they couldn't hear it. He got closer, grabbed both knives, and waited for an opening. Then one of them threw up onto the bike. "Fuck this." He said, standing up and throwing the knives, hitting two of the drunks, one in the back and the other in the side of the neck. The other one dropped his beer in shock as he watched his two drinking buddies fall dead.

He barely got time to look up, before he saw a pair of hands going for his face. Jake tackled the last guy, mans smashed the back of the mans head against the ground with both hands. After that, he started to punch the guys face, making blood splatter from his mouth. "Throw up on my bike? EAT SHIT!" When he finished, his hand was covered in blood, and the man's face was bloody and misshapen, a puddle of blood forming around his head.

Jake wiped his hand on the man's shirt to clean it, leaving a smeared bloodstain on the man's uniform shirt. He got up and pulled his knives out of the other two, slashing them through the air to throw off the blood. He sheathed his blades and went to a control panel near the hangar doors. He pressed some buttons, and the doors folded outwards, into the open air.

He looked down, and saw that the ship was a good 200 feet above the streets of vale. "Higher than its altitude cap." Jake mumbled worryingly. He sighed and made up his mind. "Screw it." He walked back to his bike and and turned off the stasis. He got on and revved the engine. "May dust help me." He drove off at full speed and out the hangar into the open air, free falling on his bike.

Jake turned on the bikes flying mode, but when it activated, it blared its warning that altitude height was to critical. They sped towards the ground, the bike still not giving in. "Come on...work dammit. WORK!" With that last word, the alarm went off and the bike changed into its flying mode, but only partially slowed the descent. Jake pulled at the handles, urging the bike to put more thrust into its thrusters.

The fall slowed, but not enough. Then Jake got desperate. "Fuck it." He brought his wrist pad to his face, saying the only voice code It knows. "Activate Helios version one." Then he felt the force it created.

The thrusters blasted out ten times the amount of power then they did originally, coming close to the ground by just meters. "Disengage operation Helios!" He yelled quickly, feeling himself rise. The output went back to normal, and he looked down.

The blast of the engine generated enough heat to melt the cement below him, earning more than enough stares from the surrounding citizens. He then turned on the ground mode of the bike and sped off. Making some people jump out of his way.

He drove until he was in a more quiet part of vale, the more townish area. He got off and parked it in a alley way. He punched in some codes, ordering it to hide, and it spun around and drove off. Jake then walked into the street, looking at the scenery.

"Smaller than atlas, that's for sure..." He thought to himself. He got so used to the massive building and factories of atlas, that he forgot all about vale, which isn't hard if your earliest memories are from when you are three.

He walked into a convenience store, hoping to buy something to eat. He grabbed a bag of chips and a soda, and went for the register. A girl, clad in a red hooded cape, with neck long hair with red highlights towards the ends of her hair, stood In front of me a the counter. She wore a black t-shirt with blue jeans, and combat boots. He looked at what she was buying, and it was a couple of magazines on weaponry and a plastic case of cookies.

When the cashier handed the girl her changed, she quickly turned and bumped into me. She fell to the ground, dropping her items. "Owww." She whined. He sighed and knelt down, picking her stuff up. "Honestly, this is on you. You should really watch where your-" He looked up at her face, and his blood ran cold. She looked up, a sad look on her face. "I'm sorry..." She said weakly as she got up.

Jake kept a composed face, though my eye twitched ever so slightly. He handed out here items to her. "Just...take it." She nodded, and grabbed the magazines and cookies. "Thank you sir." Jake looked at her funny. "I'm 19 years old." Her eyes went wide. "I'm sorry, it's just that your hat covers your face, and your voice sounds kinda low-" He held his hand up to silence her. "Ok, I get it." He said, slightly annoyed.

She took that as a message to leave, which is what she wanted, and left, a sad look on her face. He turned to the cashier, keeping his head turned down so his hat covered his face. Jake placed the chips and drink onto the counter, and the cashier pressed away at the cash register. "So, who was that red one?" Jake asked him. The cashier stopped what he was doing and turned to him. "What's it to you?" Jake shrugged. "I recognize her from somewhere, family I think."

He grunted. "Her names Ruby Rose. If you're talking about her looking like someone, you're then thinking of her mother, summer rose. That name rang in jakes head, a burning sense of hatred growing in him. "She...she..." The cashier gave him his change, and he left with his food.

He turned into the nearest alleyway and kicked a trash can over in anger. "THAT...BITCH!" He yelled as he kicked it again, denting it. "She abandons me and dad, then just starts a new family!? I'm gonna..." He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to calm down his boiling rage. "That doesn't matter right now. First, find employers." He called in his bike, and drove to where the buildings became more city like.

Jake soon came across a building, which apparently was a popular club, according to the locals. He walked in, and wanted to walk out. The place was a rave, with techno music going on and people fistbumping the air while jumping. He saw a bar to the side, and made walked over there, pushing some people out of the way, knocking one person onto their front.

Jake sat at a stool at the bar, and a man with a close cut beard and rather formal clothing came over to him washing a glass. "What will you be getting having." He asked. "Some whiskey." Jake said, barely raising his head. He cocked up a eyebrow and reached under and grabbed a bottle.

"Shots or glass?"

"Glass."

He poured Jake a glass of whiskey, and he drank half of it in one go. "Rough day?" Asked the bartender. "Naw, just a honest man looking for honest pay." He barely noticeable twitch came from the bartender, which is what he wanted. "Well, I got someone that could use an extra hand in his line of work. He's down a couple seats."

The bartender pointed his thumb towards a man in a white over coat and a black bowler hat, swirling around a shot of alcohol in his hand while a cigar stood out of his mouth, staring lazily at the glass..

Jake went and sat down next to the white coated man. "So, I hear your hiring?" He asked, waving for another drink. The man turned his eyes onto jack and sized him up before taking the cigar out of his mouth and blowing smoke into the air. "What makes you think you're qualified for this line of work?"

Jake opened his mouth to speak, but a voice called from behind in drunk anger. "Hey, you shitbird!" Jake turned around and saw the man he knocked over stumble towards him. He got up in jakes face, his eyes glazed over and his breath reeking of alcohol. "You think you can push me around like that?!"

Jake sighed and turned back toward the one in the white coat, the bartender placing another glass of whiskey in front of him as he did so. The drunk then grabbed one of Jakes shoulders and spun him around. "Don't you ignore me, you brat!" Jake then smiled and handed the man the glass of whiskey. "I'm sorry. I meant no harm. Here, have a drink." The man stared confused at the glass. "Uhh...thanks man."

He went and brought it to his lips and started to drink, before Jake slammed the glass into the mans face, lodging glass into his flesh, and the alcohol in the wounds, burning them. The man fell back, screaming in pain as he held his face while rolling around. Jake turned back to roman, who watched him with a curious expression. "So, back to business."

The man placed the cigar back into his mouth and got up. He motioned his hand to Jake to follow him, and Jake did. He followed the man out back to a waiting limo. It was black, with tinted back windows, preventing outside sources from seeing in. Someone in a hood with a metal mask waited at the drivers seat, like a chauffeur. The man got into the limo and motioned his hand towards me. "Get in." The man ordered.

Jake got in, and sat across from the white coated man. "First things first. I'm Roman Torchwick, and I could care less who you are, but your name is...?" He said, motioning his hand for him to speak. "Jake Simmons, at your service." Said Jake, tipping his hat to roman, a smirk on his face...

Roman narrowed his eyes and tapped his cigars ashes into an ashtray next to him. "I'm not the one you're serving. I'm just bringing you my boss." Jake raised his hat up, his eyes widening slightly. "You work for a mob boss?" Roman gave him a confused look.

"What, no I don't work for some high end sleaze bags. Where you from?" Jake smirked slightly, leaning back. "Atlas, the iron fist. Also known as the kingdom with the highest military AND highest concentration of collectors in all of remnant." Roman nodded and smoked his cigar.

"And home to the strongest mafia families as well. The Black Hand, High Order, and some other smaller factions." Jake smiled, impressed. "You know the families? You're not an ordinary person, are you?" Roman laughed darkly. "I was also a collector before, but then got recruited into a new line of work."

Jake leaned forward, confused. "What line of work would make you stop being a collector?" Roman smiled and leaned back. "You'll see."

The limo pulled up to a warehouse in an empty part of vale. Roman got out and dropped his cigar, crushing it under his foot. "Time you meet my boss." Said Roman as he looked back at Jake, showing a devious smile.

Jake got out and fixed his hat, tilting it lower so a shadow castes over his face. Around the warehouse, he noticed armed individuals, all in matching uniform. They wore black sleeveless shirts with hoods on them, metal masks that covered the upper portion of their faces, showing only the mouths. They wore white chest armor, metal gauntlets, black pants with metal greaves. What made him recognize them was a logo that was infamous in Atlas.

"Your boss leads the white fang?" Asked Jake, surprise in his voice. "More like, manipulates them. Makes them do the grunt work." He said, just above a whisper. Jake laughed to himself, finding the idea funny. "Fight for freedom from humans as they're being controlled by one."

They walked through a door into the warehouse, and Jake whistled. "Lot of dust here. Kinda dangerous." Roman smirked. "Yeah, if you're stupid." They kept walking until a voice called from above. "Who is this, Roman?"

They looked up to see a women in a red dress looking down at them from a catwalk from above with Amber eyes, which seemed to glow slightly. "Ah cinder, just looking for you." Said roman, who noticeably straightened his posture.

Cinder wore a red long sleeved dress that went down to about the middle of her legs, and was longer in the back. Her sleeves has gold design on them that traveled up her arms and around her neck line. Her hair was black, and traveled in a swirl down her left shoulder. Her shoes were glass slippers, making a clicking noise as she walked.

She walked up to a elevator on the catwalk and entered, descending to ground level. "And what might be the subject of your need to talk to me?" She said, a tint of annoyance in her voice. "This guy here is willing to do some jobs for us, if needed."

"At a price." Jake said, lifting his head so his face was more visible. Cinder began to slowly walk around him, examining him. "And why would I pay you to do jobs I can have men here do for free?" Jake smirked. "You want it done right or sloppy? Not my first time doing this." He followed her with his head as she walked. "Assassination, framing, robbery, kidnapping. And many more little deeds."

She turned to him fully, looking him straight in the eyes. "You boast about your skill? Then here's your first job. If it's not done perfectly, then you are done here."

She pulled out a scroll and showed him a picture of faunes with Intel and objectives. He read it over, and smiled.

"A hit and run. Doesn't need to look like an accident, but can't be seen?" He handed it back. "Consider him done."


	3. Chapter 3- First target

Jake sat on the edge of the roof, eating a apple.

He watched the streets below, four stories down, with little cars passing and fewer people. But he didn't care about those things. He only cared about the car parked in front of a shop and its owner.

"Where are you, you little shit..." He mumbled to himself. He went to bite his Apple again, but found it was just a core, so he threw it over his shoulder. Then he heard the store door open with a jingle of a bell.

He looked at the store and saw a man walk out, keeping his head low. "Bingo." Said Jake with a grin. The man got into the car and drove off, with Jake following him by the rooftop.

He jumped from roof to roof, sometimes across the streets to the other roofs when the car turned in the opposite direction. The car finally pulled into a shack of a house, windows boarded up, white ain't peeling off the walls, and a screen door hanging on it hinges. The roof had a sort of patch job, a hole covered by just a couple of boards.

"What a shithole." Thought Jake as jumped down from a neighboring houses roof. The man hurried inside, the sound of a door locking could be heard as he closed the door.

Jake crouch walked to under a side window and looked in. The man stumbled into view a turned on the lights, revealing a dirty kitchen. He opened a rusted looking fridge and pulled out a can of beer.

He opened it and light yellow foam poured out the top, but he still drank it anyways. He did this multiple times until he stumbled out of the room, obviously drunk.

Jake waited a couple minutes before moving around to the back. He found the backdoor to the house, which was in no better shape than the front. He turned the doorknob, and the door came off its hinges.

"The fuck dude?" Jake propped the door up against the wall and walked inside. The first thing he noticed was the stench of the place. "Oh shit. seriously, the hell?" It smelled of rotten food and a bad shit, like he used the whole house as his toilet.

He heard the sound of a TV playing, so he made his way towards the sound. He came to a corner that turned into the room that the TV was in, and peeked around it.

He saw the man just sitting in an armchair, staring at the TV. Silently, Jake walked up behind the man, pulling out his black gun. When he was right behind the man, he places the end of the gun at the back of the man's head. He noticeable flinched, but kept sitting, letting out a defeated sigh.

"Nothing personal, but you gotta die." Jake was about to pull the trigger, but the man spoke up in a gravelly voice. "About time." Now Jake was confused.

"Um, what?" The man just laughed softly, with no humor behind it. "Haven't you noticed that I have no value in my own life anymore? I've given up. Thrown in the towel."

"Ok, so I can kill you then?"

"Yes. Just one fa-" Jake pulled the trigger, making a hole in the man's head, leaving a splattered mess on the TV. "Sorry pal, but I don't do favors."

Jake walked out the front of the house with a sack with blood seeping out of the bottom, and a beer from the fridge in the house. He opened it, and took a sip before spitting out the drink. "Trying to commit suicide with this? Brutal." He tossed the can to the side and called in his bike. A minute later, his bike rolled up, and he hopped on it, heading to cash in his reward.

When he arrived at the warehouse, he found cinder sitting on a crate with her legs crossed, about eight feet in the air, looking at him with an amused expression. "Did you take care of it?"

I smiled and threw the bag forward, it's belongings coming out. Roman walked around the corner of the box looking up at cinder. "The dust is set and lo-" he looked down at the thing on the ground, jumping back. "Holy shit!" He yelled in surprise.

The head of the man was on the ground, a hole going through its head out between the eyes.

"This is proof that he is dead." Cinder raised her eyebrow in question. "Why didn't you just take a picture?" He shrugged. "My scrolls battery was dead."

"Doesn't mean you bring the fucking head!" Yelled Roman angrily. Cinder raised her hand

to silence him. "He does have a point, though I admire your ability to track a target. He's been under my radar for a while."

Jake gave a confused look. "Really, cause this guy was easier to find then a drunk at a bar in the night."

"I see. And did he say anything to you before you killed him?"

"Yeah. Said he had given up on living and wanted a last request."

"I see. And did you give him that last request?"

"Didn't give him a chance. Shot him through the head before he even said a couple words."

Cinders face turned to one of surprise, then laughed. "Aren't you a cruel and merciless killer."

"I don't DO requests. Less time it takes to do a job, the better."

Cinder nodded her head before waving her hand. A white fang soldier walked out from behind the crate, holding a black scroll.

"Please take out your scroll, mr..." Cinder opened her hand out to me.

"Simmons."

"Well, can you take out your scroll Mr. Simmons?"

Jake took out his scroll, and the White Fang soldier walked up and tapped the top end of his scroll on jakes, a little bing being heard.

"The payment has been transferred to your account. Hope to do business with you again." Said cinder, waving him out.

Jake gave a small nod and walked out of the warehouse, towards his bike. He got on and sped off into vale.

"Maybe I should put the rest of my cash in my account." He thought to himself. "But first, a base of operations."

Jake drove through vale until he found a cheap looking apartment building, named The Sleepy Hunter. He parked his bike in front and walked in, the place smelling like a retirement home. He walked up to the front desk, which was vacant, and rang the bell on it.

"Coming!" Called a female voice from around back. A girl, no older than him, came running out from a room with the label employees only on it. She wore white short sleeved with a dark green apron, with the initials SH written in cursive and gold on her chest. She wore navy blue jeans, and white runners. Her hair, which was white with black streaks, was tied back in a ponytail, going down to just between her shoulder blades. Her eyes, to jakes surprise, were a dark, but somehow kind looking, red.

"Sorry, I was doing some paperwork, like bills and stuff, so sorry if you had to wait long." She said glumly, hanging her head with her hands crossed.

"Ok, well if you can give me a key to a room, you can get back to your paperwork." Said Jake, giving her a funny look.

"Oh, right! Sorry, give me a moment." She walked back through the door, and came back a moment later with a key in her hand.

"Just go to the room with the same number as the key and make yourself at home. House cleaning comes at noon, so just leave out your dirty towels and clothing, and they'll be back clean within the hour." She said as she handed Jake the key.

"Within the hour? Wouldn't it be longer?" Jake asked, slightly confused. She looked down, her expression turning to one of sadness. "There is only a few people taking residence here, so it takes less time to clean. It also means that pay isn't well either."

He nodded, and grabbed into his bag and pulled out some lien, and traded it for the keys. He walked away towards the door leading to the rooms as she counted the lien.

"Wait!" She called as he grabbed the handle. He turned and found her leaning over the desk with her arm out. "This is too much. More than double the cost." Jake nodded. "I know." He went to turn the handle.

"But why?" Jake sighed and turned to her. "Because I know what it's like to be short on money that needs to be payed." He walked through the door and closed it without another word.

Halfway down the hall, he came to realize what he had done, and felt a feeling all too alien to him.

Pity.

"Huh." He shook off the feeling and continued his way to his room.


	4. Chapter 4: Day off?

He woke up to the sound of an alarm blaring, causing him to growl I'm annoyance.

"Fucking clock." He smashed his hand on top of it, finally silencing the assault on his ears.

He sat up and rubbed his face, looking at the clock. "Why do I have you set at 8:00 in the morning?"

He threw the sheets off and sat at the edge of the bed, cracking his neck before standing up. He looked around the room, examining it. "Not bad of a deal, honestly."

The room was slightly bigger than your average hotel room, even if the place was small. There was a queen sized bed, a stand next to it with a lamp and a god forsaken alarm clock, on top of it with one drawer. There was a medium sized dresser embedded into the wall, with two bigger drawers at the bottom and a double doored opening to hang your other belongings. A TV stood on a stand across from the foot of the bed. A mini fridge was placed in an area with a sink and microwave, making a small kitchen area. Then there was a door on the opposite side of the entrance, which led to the bathroom.

He checked his scroll to see if he got any more assignments. "You have: 0 new messages." Said a robotic female voice from the scroll. This was odd, since for the last week he had stayed there, he had usually gotten one or two assignments

He got up and changed into some more casual wear than what he had on before. He put on a white T-shirt with three black jagged slash marks across the chest, and a pair of grey sweatpants with sandals.

"Not my usual decour, but eh, casual wear." He thought to himself. He went for the door, but stopped and looked at the scroll on the bed. "Better take it, just in case." He's done jobs without his equipment before, it just that they were...messyer.

Leaving the apartment, he headed down the hall towards the dining area to get some of the breakfast that was served.

When he got there, it was empty, which was normal, since most times people didn't stay at the place for more than a night. They either slept in and got food later, or left around this time, just getting a quick snack.

After getting a plate and silverware, he walked up to the buffet, noticing the sound of something cooking in a skillet. "What she plan to do, feed the town?" Thought Jake with a smirk.

He started to move down the buffett, placing breakfast goods on his plate. "You know, I don't I'll be able to eat all this!" He called into the kitchen through the opening in front of him. A head poked out, leaning backwards, with white hair with black streaks tied in a bun under a net, accompanied by dark red eyes.

"You better, since you're the only one here!" She yelled back, waving a spatula.

"Sorry, not that big of an appetite Jasmine."

"Make it big! And it's Jaz, not Jasmine!"

A smirk on his face, Jake sat down at one of the tables in the room and started to eat. "Not bad." He mumbled through bites.

About a couple days into staying there, Jake learned her name was Jasmine, but preferred to be called Jaz. "I like the simple things in life. Jaz is simple, so use it." She told him after he called her Jasmine one to many times, threatening him with a hardcover book.

He rubbed the back of his head. "That shit hurts." He thought.

He also learned that she actually inherited the place from her parents after an accident a few years back, resulting in their deaths. She was able to keep the building, thanks to the small fortune left behind by her parents, but started to actually work there when she was legally old enough. Since then, she's been working here, "preserving her parents dream" she says.

"But, with you just here, it won't be long until things become too much." He told her. She just smiled and shook her head. "Even so, I gotta keep doing it. It's what I want to do."

She confused Jake that way, with that kind of thinking. "Why take such big risks? Take the path of profit and luxury. No ones obligated to carry on the will of the dead." He never said that, but that's what he thought to himself.

As he ate, he heard the sound of clattering plates. He turned and found Jaz grabbing a plate herself, along with some foods from the Buffet.

"What? I haven't had breakfast yet." She told him as she walked to his table, noticing the funny look he was giving her. She sat across from him and started to eat.

"So, you taking a day off today?"

"So far, yeah. How'd you guess?"

"You always wear that sketchy coat and hat when you go out. You not now, so I guessed, and I guessed right." She said with a triumphant smile at the end.

"Hey, I do not look sketchy." Jake said, pointing his fork at her with a piece of sliced cooked ham on it.

"Yeah you do." She said, grabbing the ham off his fork with her own.

"Real charming." He grumbled, eating his other food. She responded by sticking her tongue out and ate the ham.

They ate in silence, until Jaz spoke up. "So, you want to get coffee or something?"

Jake stopped eating and looked up. "Excuse me?"

"Well, if you got nothing to do, then let's go hang out. I got a friend I can call over that can watch the place, so in case someone comes, there's service."

Jake sat back and closed his eyes, thinking about his choices.

"Come ooon! All we do is work everyday. We deserve some type of fun, even if it's for a day."

After a couple of moments of silence, Jake sighed. "Fine, but only because you'll keep nagging me if I say no."

Jaz sat of and clapped her hands with a smile. "Great! I'll go get changed, then we'll leave. And also..." She flicked him in the head. "I don't nag."

She walked out humming, leaving jack rubbing the spot where she flicked him. "What did I just walk myself into?" He grumbled.

He then proceeded to wait for her at the table, drumming his fingers against it. "Ugh." He moaned in frustration. "What's taking so long?"

He then started to play with a spoon, flipping it around his fingers and balancing it on the tip of his index finger. "Hmm." He noticed his reflection in the spoon. "Should my hair be straightened out?" He brushed his fingers through his hair before stopping.

"What am I doing?" He thought, shaking his head. He didn't care what he looked like. Why should he? This isn't a date, just hanging out with a friend.

He leaned back and groaned. "Come on..."

He heard footsteps behind him.

"Alright, let's go. Had to dig through some stuff, but this is all I could find."

Jake turned around, and his eyes went wide.

Jaz wore a black T-shirt with dark purple design on the front in the form of a heart, with a white long sleeved undershirt that just reached her elbows. Her pants were light blue jeans, and her shoes were light brown casuals, resembling slippers meant for outdoors.

He must have stared for a little too long, cause Jaz seemed to take notice. "What, you like this outfit?" She said crossing her arms with a smirk.

"Uhhh...I don't know?"

She rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm. "Come on, let's go!" She half yelled, leading him to the front.

"We're taking your bike."

"Why? Don't you have a ride?"

"I'm not waiting fifteen minutes for the bus."

"Alright, give me a second."

He pulled out his scroll and selected an app with just the rim of a tire showing. It opened, showing a bunch of commands written out, with a voice activator at the bottom.

"Activate _NightsGust, _requesting pickup."

The sound of an engine roaring to life came from the back of the establishment, and the bike came driving itself out to the front, stopping in front of the two.

"Oh wow." Jaz whispered, staring at the bike.

"Yep. My pride and joy. Custom built so that only i can control it."

"And if someone tries?"

"You'll get...burnt."

She nodded slowly, looking it over. "Why NightsGust?"

Jake smiled, brushing his hand along the handle. "Cause when I ride this thing, I'm like the wind of the night: fast, and black as the shadows."

"I see. So, let's get that coffee."

"Alright. Hop on, and let's get going."

He got on and revved the engine, Jaz slowly getting on. "Your kinda slow at this."

"I never ride a motorcycle before!"

"It's fine, just hold on."

"Hold on? Hold onto wha-AHHHH!" Jake flipped the brakes and drove off, making Jaz throw her arms around his waist. He looked down and laughed, seeing as she was terrified.

"What, you scared?" He called over the wind.

"SHUT UP!" She yelled back angrily, causing him to laugh again.

After a couple of minutes of driving, they got to a little outdoor cafe, named The Roasted

Bean, which was odd, and parked the bike at the side.

"How'd you enjoy the ride?" Jaz smashed him in the arm with her fist.

"Shut...up." She stormed off into the cafe, leaving Jake to stand there, rubbing his arm.

"Violent..." He mumbled, a slight smile on his face as he followed after her. He found her waiting in line, a couple people in front.

"What, you made me come out to get coffee. There had to be some sort of punishment involved in this." She still kept silent, facing forward with her arms crossed.

"Helloooo? Anybody in there?" He waved his hand in front of her face. She grabbed his hand and threw it down, still facing forward.

"Alright, how bout this." He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry for making you freak your shit and driving off before you had any type of grip on the bike."

She sighed and mumbled something, inaudible to his ears.

"You say something?"

"No."

They got to the counter, and placed their orders. Jake ordered a dark roast, while Jaz ordered an iced coffee. After they got their drinks, they headed to a table outside of the building out front.

"I don't come here often enough." Jaz said, sipping her drink. "What do you mean?"

She leaned on one arm. "I used to come here all the time. The iced coffees here are my favorite." She swirled her drink with a straw that came with the drink.

"Why don't you? If you got someone to look after the hotel when you're gone, why is it so hard to just come here?" Jake asked, adding some sugar to his coffee.

She placed her drink down. "Well, this person has a life of their own, so I can't keep calling into them. And really, it sucks to just go and do things like this on your own." Jake nodded, sipping his drink.

They then chatted about other things, like current events, and other things of the nature.

They then started talking about the local crime spike.

"But it's so weird! Not until recently, murders were at a minimum, but now there's one person found every other day."

"What, you saying there's a serial killer out in town?"

"Well, I not sure, but they're saying that it doesn't fit the motive, or something, like its too random. The only connections they can make are the fact that the majority of the victims were in the witness protection program."

"So you're saying is that we got a collector?" He realized what he just said, cursing under his breath.

"Yeah, I guess. It's just that you don't find that type In Vale. They're usually all in Atlas."

"Well, if you want my advice on the whole thing, I'd say not to get too into it."

She looked at him funny. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "They're the type that don't like people butting into their business. Cross the wrong one, and things won't end well."

"How would you know this?" Jaz asked, leaning in.

"...things happen, some I don't want to share."

"Oh...OH...I-im sorry, I didn't-" Jake held up his hand, a small smile on his face.

"It's alright." He saw that he finished his coffee. "Well, my coffees done, you done."

"Yeah, let's get going."

They left the cafe, heading back to the bike. when they got to where they left it, it wasn't there. "Oh, oh HELL no." Jake pulled out his scroll, looking through the app with a scowl on his face.

"Your bike got jacked!?"

"Seems that way."

"We got to call the police!"

"No need. This way." Jake said, pointing at a minimap on the scroll, showing a blinking light a block down. "But that's dangerous! We don't know who, did this, or what they're capable of..."

"We'll be fine. Come on." Jake waved his hand to her, motioning her to follow him. Tentatively, she followed, her hands against her chest, eyes darting around.

After a couple minutes of walking, Jake grabbed Jaz and pulled her behind a dumpster.

"What are you-"

"Shh." He hushed, putting his hand on her mouth. "They're right around the corner. Listen, do NOT come out if you hear anything odd, alright?"

She looked at him with both confusion and worry. "Why? What's happening?"

He peeked around the dumpster, observing the thieves.

They were Juniors men, that's for sure, wearing the trademark red glasses and black suits, four in total. Three of them held red katanas, one on his shoulder, one sheathed, and the other leaning on it in its sheath. The last one had a gun at his side, designed to fire dust infused rounds it seemed.

"Well, what we gonna do with it?"

"What else? Scrap the damn thing, sell the parts."

"Man, look at this thing." He went to sit on it, but the one with the gun smacked him over the head.

"Dumbass! You wanna get burnt again?"

"Hey, who you calling a dumbass?"

They started to argue, but the last one intervened. "Alright, alright! How bout this? You're both dumbasses."

Jake leaned back behind the dumpster, cracking his fist. "Just promise, you'll stay silent."

"But-" she didn't have time before Jake stepped out and walked towards the four.

"Hey jackasses, I'm pretty sure that's my ride." Jake called, making all four turn on him.

"The hell is this shit?"

"This brat talking to us?"

"No, he's talking to the trash cans."

"Let's just kill the fucker already."

The closest one, him holding a sword, ran at him, bringing the sword down in a downstroke. Jake sidestepped and stepped on the blade, knocking it from the man's hands. Jake then kicked the man in the gut, making him bend over coughing. Jake finished him off by bringing his foot up and smashing the man's head into the cement, sending cracks out from underneath. "Now..." Jake grabbed the sword, examined it, then pointed it at the remaining three. "My bike. Give. It. _BACK."_

The three took a step back, raising their weapons.

"This is looking bad guys."

"Shut up. There three of us and one of him. He's fucked."

"Doesn't his voice seem familiar to you?"

They didn't get to answer the other ones question, since Jake was rushing the nearest one, who wielded a sword. Jake came with and upwards strike, which was blocked by the man, who brought his knee up to Jakes side. Taking advantage of this, Jake used his speed and kicked the man's other leg out, making him fall to the ground.

The other one struck from behind, swinging sideways. Jake noticed and ducked, swiping the man's feet from underneath him with a low kick. The man fell on his side, and Jake rolled away, a bullet whizzing past him from the other one. Jake grabbed a nearby trash can lid and threw it at the gunner, smacking him in the teeth, causing blood to quickly flow from his mouth.

"Fucking shit!" Yelled the man through his hands, trying to stop the flow of blood.

Jake returned his attention to the other two, who started to get up. As they did so, Jake rushed and shoulder bashed one into the other, making them fall on top of each other. Jake finished them off by stabbing the sword right through both of them, pushing the handle in as well. Then a bullet caught him in the arm, making him drop the sword.

"Alright you fucker, that's it!" Yelled the man with the gun, holding his mouth with the other hand. "Hand up, or this bullets gonna make friends with your brain cells!"

Slowly Jake raised his arms, wincing as pain flaring in his arm. "Didn't go through..." He thought angrily. He felt that his arm was probably shattered by the bullet, but he had to worry about that later.

"Turn around." Jake followed the orders and turned, facing the gunner.

"Walk in front of me, we're gonna go see my boss." He moved behind Jake, shoving him forward. He was too close now for him to dodge the bullet, and the pain prevented him from concentrating.

"When we get there, you're in so much sh-"

_CRACK!_

Jake whirled around, and found a sight he didn't expect to see.

Jaz was standing there, a look of fear and slight anger on her face, holding a lead pipe, and was standing over the rag dolled form of the gunner.

"Holy shit." Jake muttered, slightly impressed by Jaz. She then started to get some sense back, and started to worry.

"Oh god, I-I didn't know what to do! Is he dead, I think he's dead. The other guys are dead, and you killed them. You killed them and your shot. We need to get to the doctors, call the police, call..." She started to ramble on, shaking slightly from shock at the scene that surrounded her.

"We're not calling the police." Jake said sternly, gripping his arm. "We head back to the hotel.

"But-but these people are dead!"

"Dead mobsters aren't a rare thing. Besides, thats a very bad idea." Jaz started to get angry.

"Why, why is it a bad thing!?" Jake sighed and headed for the bike.

"I don't even got time to explain that, I gotta stop this blood flow." He revved the engine.

"Then let's get to the doctors!"

"Also a bad idea. They won't help either."

"What's so bad about the doctors!?" Jakes vision started to swim.

"Just...get to...hotel. Stop it...there."

He couldn't hear Jaz's response, since the world started to dim. "Shit..." Jake collapsed, the muffled sound of Jaz's yelling being heard.

Yeah, hey guys. Sorry for the lack of posting, but had things to deal with. Don't really expect A New Beginning to be posted in the next few posts, cause I kinda hit a wall on that one. Plus, I'm also working on a fourth story, so expect another person to show. Until later, Blaze out.


	5. Chapter 5- Bed Ridden

Jake woke up feeling like complete shit.

"Ugh, what the fu-oh shit that hurts." He tried to move, but pain flared in his arm like hot iron was stabbed into his shoulder.

He craned his head up to see where he actually was. "Huh." He found that he was back in his apartment, laying on his bed.

He looked around some more, then noticed some things on the nightstand. It was littered with disinfectants, gauze, pads, and some blood covered towels, and pair of bloody tweezers with a bullet next to it.

"Wait, did she..?"

He heard the sound of the door opening, a voice accompanying it. "-bleeding stopped. Now just gotta clean out the wound and..."

Jaz walked in, looking at her scroll, seemingly reading something from it. Without looking up, she walked to the nightstand and grabbed a bottle of disinfectant. "Now to just sanitize it.."

She turned to clean the bullet wound, but found Jake staring up at her with an amused expression on his face.

"Hey." He greeted, watching her reaction, which was to drop the bottle onto the floor, spilling the contents.

They both stayed still for a moment, until Jake broke the silence. "You spilled something." She blinked a couple of times before noticing the spill. "Oh shit.."

She quickly ran into the bathroom a got a towel. She laid it onto the spill area after picking up the bottle of disinfectant, which only had about just less the original amount.

"I think you missed a spot." Jake joked as Jaz wiped up the mess. "Shut up..." She said in a low tone.

Using this time, Jake reached and grabbed the scroll from the nightstand. "Well I be damned..." She had looked up multiple sites on how to treat, clean, and fix bullet wounds.

"You really care that much? I'm touched." He said as he scrolled through the sites. He looked down, but couldn't really see her face, since it was covered by a curtain of her hair.

"You're the only one who stays here. You're my life line on income." She murmured. "Besides..." She stopped, a sad expression on her face. "If you died, I felt like I failed again..."

"Again?" Jake asked, putting down the scroll.

Jaz looked down, her face seemingly getting even sader. "My parents...they...died the same way..."

Jakes eyes widened. He didn't know why he felt pity for her. He's killed countless men and women, most likely leaving a few orphans and strays. Still, having to look at the product of that kind of thing left a bad taste in his mouth. "They were shot?" She nodded slowly.

"I came back one day from school. Nothing was different, just a normal...happy day." Her voice started to crack. "But when I opened the door, the place was trashed, like a fight broke out." Her eyes started to water. "When I found them...they...they were already dead, riddled with bullet holes. My dad had his gun out, so I know he put up a fight." She laughed with false humor. "The police said that the killer probably got hit a couple times before it ended, since they found more shells from the gun than bullets in the house of the same type.

"Oh. Um...wow. Sorry, I...didn't know.." The bullet wound seemed to throb a bit more now. She smiled slightly, sniffing. "It's alright, just...don't what you did again. Ever."

He held up his good hand in defense. "Fine, fine. I wont attack armed thugs head on anymore." She seemed to relax slightly when's he heard this. "Good. Now, let's fix your wound." She moved to go fix it, but Jake held up his hand.

"Before that, let me teach you a thing or two." Jaz's face turned to one of confusion. "First, you did great stopping the bleeding and all, but that's where I'm going to stop you. You see..." He brought his finger up to his wound and stuck it into it, making him cringe in pain and Jaz stand up in shock.

"What are you doing?!" Jake brought his finger back out and examined it. "Take a look at this." Hesitantly, Jaz moved closer and looked at the finger. "What?"

"You see that light red powder like stuff? That's red dust. The bullet was traced with it." Her eyes widened slightly. "How'd you know?" Jake smiled. "I grew up in atlas. Getting shot isn't a rare occurrence in that place."

"That sounds horrible."

"It was. But anyways, if you were to pour that disenfectent with ALCOHOL in it, I would have lit up like a Christmas tree." She nodded. "Then what do you want me to do then?" Jake smiled grimly. "I know a way to clear it out. It's the safest way, but it hurts like hell."

"What do you want me to get?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. "Some blue dust. It'll negate the red dust."

"Alright, I'll go check if I have some." She then went to go find blue dust, coming back a few minute later.

"All I could find was one crystal." She held out a blue crystal, big enough to grip firmly in your hand.

"That's perfect. Thanks." Jake grabbed the crystal and flipped it in his hand. "Well, here we go." He mumbled.

"Wait, what do you plan to-" Jaz didn't get to finish before Jake jammed the crystal into the wound, a loud sizzling erupting to be heard, followed by steam.

At that point, Jake was swearing under his breath every curse available in his native tongue, while Jaz fell back in shock.

"Are you insane?!" She asked, mouth hanging open.

"Yeah...haven't figured that out yet?" He hissed through gritted teeth, making Jaz jump back slightly.

After a couple minutes of soft swearing and moans of pain, the sizzling stopped, as well did the steam. Jake through down the crystal onto the bed, panting heavily.

"I...will never get used...to that shit..." He breathed, laying back while holding his arm.

Jaz just stared at him like he was some sort of alien.

"Who...are you?" She asked, looking at crystal, then back at him. He laughed softly, rubbing his wounded arm. "Just a guy who has both seen and been in some tough shit."

"And you do what exactly for a living?"

"I..do odd jobs for people. It's not amazing pay, but it's a living." She nodded slowly before turning back towards the medical equipment. "I guess I should dress that wound now?" He nodded. "Be my guest."

Soon after the wound was dressed and wrapped up, Jaz started to pack up the equipment into a plastic container with a cross on it. "Since your aura is active, i can skip the part where I close the wound and let it do that itself." She was right, since Jake could already feel his skin, bone, and flesh in his arm mending.

"You did great. Normally things like this wouldn't take effect as fast because most usually miss some stuff, leaving the wound to heal slower. You on the other hand, did it well enough that I can already feel the wound closing." She mouth turned into a small smile as she faced down, shuffling her feet from side to side.

"It's nothing really. I just did what the information told me to do." Jake shook his head. "I'm serious, your pretty good at this. Like, maybe-make-a-career-out-of-this type good."

"I can't do that. I mean, what would happen to the hotel? I can't just drop it." She stated, swinging her arm around. Jake held his hands up in defense. "I'm not saying to drop everything and go be a doctor or whatever, I'm just saying give it a thought. Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna go grab a bite."

As he went to sit up, Jaz rushed over and held him down by his chest. "Oh no you don't. You may have healed your wound for the most part, but you still lost a bit of blood back there. You need to lay down and rest. Doctors orders." Jake groaned in complaint. "Come on, you gonna keep me in bed all day?"

"Wouldn't you like to do that?"

"Not that I know that I can't leave!" He whined. "Quite. By tomorrow, your blood should be at its original amount. Until then, lay down."

"Yes mother..." He mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Jaz lifted her chin up with a satisfied grin. "That's more like it." She then left the room, leaving Jake in silent annoyance, and boredom.

"So, what do you think happened here?"

"Not sure, but hell, ain't this a real shit show."

The two cops chatted as they, and other personal examined the scene before them, with four casualties in total.

"They're uniforms match the same description as a local big gangs description."

"Honestly, I've had enough of this shit. The murder toll has skyrocketed in the past couple weeks, and we still don't have a damn clue on who it is!"

"We do know one thing, that's for sure."

The two turned to see who talked, but immediately stood straight up and saluted when they saw the badge on the persons chest, signifying that individual to be apart of Vales Special Crimes unit.

"C-captain Xiao Long! Pleasure to meet you." One of them stammered.

The man stood just above the two police officers, with a buzz cut of dark brown hair, and purple eyes. He wore a black coat with the symbol of vale on his shoulder, and a VSC badge over his heart. His pants were black dress pants modified for combat, give him movement freedom. His shoes were boots of the same color, with a steel heel and toe.

"At ease men. What do we got here this time?" He asked, walking past them.

"Four of that local big gangs men dead sir, killed with their own weapons. Well, except for one."

"His death was blunt trauma to the back of the head, sir."

The detective examined the body talked about prior. "Hm. Makes you think that two were involved in this, doesn't it?"

"E-excuse me sir?" One of them asked, confused. "All of them died the same way, stabbed with their own weapons. Why choose to use something else, and it's kind of hard to think he got behind this one." He then noticed that the body was gripping a pistol.

"What do we have here..." He pulled out two plastic glovesout of his pocket and slipped them on. He picked up the gun and checked its magazine.

"Did you men perhaps find a stray bullet somewhere around here?" He asked the officers, putting the gun back down.

"No sir, we didn't find anything."

He stood up and took off the gloves. "Then it's safe to assume that the bullet hit its mark." He looked at the other bodies, searching for anything that could give clues on what happened.

"What's this?" He noticed that next to the two bodies pinned to the ground, there was a seperate little pool of blood. He took out a scroll with the VCS logo on its front and opened it. A blue line of light moved up and down the patch of blood, the screen showing the words scanning on it.

When it finished, the outcome puzzled the detective. "Unknown? How?" He then searched for people who were related to this individuals blood.

"Let's see. Daniel Simmons, current known status...deceased. Not getting much out of him. And the mother..." The outcome of his search almost had him drop the scroll, making his blood run cold. "Oh no..."

He got up and walked around the corner, switching to his phone.

"Come on, pick up, pick up..." He muttered, hearing the ring of the line. Then the one he called answer.

"Hey lee, why the private number?"

"Hey Qrow. Listen, I didn't come to chit chat alright? Got some urgent news."

"Thought so, since this number. What's the problem?"

"We got a lead on the killer."

"What, the Hunter? Why you calling me then?"

"Because this concerns you and me both. The killer..."

"The killer what? Who is it lee?"

"...it's her other kid Qrow."

"Her other kid? Wait, you mean-"

"Yes Qrow, it's him. It's Summers son."


End file.
